Renault's plan to call car Zoe sparks a legal battle

PARIS - A French lawyer has a warning for parents-to-be: Naming your baby girl Zoe could set her up for a lifetime of annoyances - everything from playground teasing to sexual come-ons.

At least that's the contention of David Koubbi, who is wrangling with French carmaker Renault about its plans to call its new electric car Zoe.

Koubbi is representing the parents of two little girls named Zoe Renault - no relations to the French automaker - who are outraged their daughters might have to share their names with a car. They want Renault to find another, non-human name for the model.

"There's a line between living things and inanimate objects and that line is defined by the first name," Koubbi told the Associated Press in an interview. "We're telling Renault one very simple thing: First names are for humans."

That means names shouldn't be co-opted by multinational companies to market products, he said.

"Can an industrialist swoop in and steal our names so as to sell his products?" Koubbi asked. "We don't think so."

A judge found against Koubbi's clients in fast-track proceedings Wednesday, ruling that the parents would only have a case it they could prove that by naming the car Zoe would cause the children "certain, direct and current harm."

Koubbi said he would appeal the decision.

He insisted that, while it's clear the Zoe Renaults of the world would be most affected by the release of the car - slated for 2012 - all France's estimated 35,000 Zoes would feel the sting.

"Can you imagine what little Zoes would have to endure on the playground, and even worse, when they get a little bit older and someone comes up to them in a bar and says, 'Can I see your air bags?' or Can I shine your bumper?' " Koubbi said.

Renault, one of France's two main carmakers, has already given several of its cars female first names - including its compact hatchback Megane and its mini Clio. There was no organized opposition to either name.

Yet the spat over the Zoe has garnered considerable media attention in France, where a petition on a Facebook page called "Zoe's not a car name" has garnered more than 6,000 signatures.

First names are not a laughing matter in France, which formerly restricted parents' choice of first names to a specific list of traditional French names. The rules have since been loosened, but even today officials can oppose parents' choices on the grounds that ridiculous names can hurt children's future chances.

In June, Renault Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said he wanted to avoid any controversy that could potentially hurt the car's sales.

Still, a Renault official emphasized that there's no plan to change the car's name.